DJ Mustard Opens up About Working With Rihanna

2 years ago

We’ve all heard “Mustard on that beat” at the start of tons of hit songs, like Jeremih‘s “Don’t Tell ‘Em,” “Rack City” by Tyga, Tre Songz‘s “Na Na,” and “Show Me” from Kid Ink.

And on Friday morning, we had the man himself, DJ Mustard, in-studio at On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

The mega-producer, 24, was here for nearly an hour and talked with JoJo Wright and Ellen K. about everything from the MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday (he’ll be the house DJ!) and getting surprised by a call from Jay Z that changed his life … to his collection of tattoos.

Mustard (real name: Dijon McFarlane) explained how he accidentally first came up with “Mustard on that beat.” The producer was living at rapper YG‘s house, “and he said it on a song a long time ago and I just took it from that song and put it on every single beat. It’s the same thing [on every track], I just changed the tempo of it.”

One of the most interesting things he revealed was the one artist whose track doesn’t include his infamous line: Rihanna.

“She didn’t say she didn’t want it,” he clarifies. “I just didn’t use it. I didn’t want them to take it off, and I’d be like, ‘Uh, why’d you take it off?’”

Photo: Sadao Turner/Ryan Seacrest Productions

DJ Mustard also detailed what it’s like recording in the same studio once used by Michael Jackson.

“When you first walk in the studio, you feel the presence of Michael,” he says. “They have a thing, a glass wall with his glove and his hat, pictures. The room I work in is the room he used to work in. Upstairs from the room they call it the ‘Monkey Room’ because that’s where his monkey used to chill at while he was recording. And when you go in the recording booth, you can see, if you look up, you can see the glass the monkey looked through and watched him record his music. It’s a cool vibe and energy. It’s like history!”

For more from DJ Mustard, like his favorite kind of mustard and his love of backpacks, listen to the audio above! And check out his track “10 Summers” on Google Play now here!